The World Junior/U23 Cross Country Skiing Championships that were held in Turkey have now come to a close, but the Whitehorse women were busy showing the rest of Canada that they are a force to be reckoned with during the event.

While no podium placings had come the way of the Canadian team by late Friday, the three women from Whitehorse have been taking turns being at the top of the Canadian roster.

First race on the calendar this past week was a sprint. In the Junior field, Janelle Greer was the only Canadian (male or female) to advance beyond the qualifying round, ultimately finishing 27th overall.

The skiers then switched to skiing classic technique distance races.

This time, Dahria Beatty was the top Canadian in the Junior category, finishing 25th overall, with Janelle Greer only five seconds behind, in 28th place.

The race was dominated by the Russian team, who picked up five of the six medals on offer for the day.

On Thursday, in the U23 distance race, Emily Nishikawa picked up the best Canadian performance of the meet to date, with a 17th place finish.

David Greer also had a solid performance that day, finishing 36th overall, the second Canadian male.

The racing has been intense, especially in the U23 category where many skiers have posted top 10 performances on the World Cup circuit this season.

The whole Canadian team has been struggling with the high altitude, races are held at 1800 metres, cold conditions and dry, slow snow but seem to be improving daily.

The racers are en route back to Canada and should be arriving into Whitehorse tomorrow.

Look for a full recount of the event in an upcoming issue of the Whitehorse Star.